The present invention relates to a steerable dolly for moving helicopters.
Unlike conventional fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters are capable of vertical take-off and landings, thereby obviating the need for landing gear or wheels. As a helicopter does not need wheels to fly, most helicopters, and especially small one- and two-man models, are supported on an undercarriage that includes a pair of parallel skids. However, once they have landed, helicopters can be difficult to move, as the skids upon which they are supported are not well adapted for moving the helicopters about. Skid mounted helicopters have traditionally been moved by either dragging them across the ground, landing them on a trailer which then may be used to move the helicopter, or by securing a single wheel to the rear-most portion of each of the helicopter skids. This latter mode of moving a helicopter has been useful only on smaller helicopters as only the smaller helicopters are small enough to be moved in this manner. Moving the helicopter using this method is accomplished by forcing the tail of a helicopter equipped with the skid mounted wheels towards the ground, thereby lifting the nose and tilting the weight of the helicopter onto the skid mounted wheels. The helicopter is then rolled on its wheels to its new location. The problem with this mode of moving a helicopter is that it is strenuous and quite difficult to move a helicopter in this manner over unpaved surfaces. The relatively small wheels are not able to negotiate grass, mud, or ruts that may be present in many airfields where helicopters are kept.
Therefore, it is object of the present invention to disclose a steerable dolly, which will permit a pilot or ground crewman to move a landed helicopter with ease over varying terrain. These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.